The Emporium slashes prices to raise money for hospice

By Mike Cook

Las Cruces Bulletin

Talk about a sale!

The Emporium, 106 S. Water St., is offering 50 percent off on everything in the store and 75 percent off on all Christmas items.

The store will be closed the week between Christmas and New Year’s (Dec. 27-31) and will reopen Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, to begin the sale.

The Emporium volunteers Heather Pollard and Joanne Achen emphasized that the sale is just that – a sale; the store is not closing. The Emporium opened in June 2015, with all its proceeds going to Mesilla Valley Hospice. Since opening, the store has generated about $350,000 for the hospice.

To date in 2021, “we’ve had an overwhelmingly wonderful year,” Achen said, even though the store was closed for the first three months of the year as part of its 14-month hiatus during the pandemic. It helped that landlord (and former Las Cruces mayor) Ruben Smith didn’t charge The Emporium any rent while it was closed.

Pollard and Achen said The Emporium is welcoming three new volunteers: Barbara Camunez, Barbara Delaurier and Marsha Westfall. About a dozen Las Cruces women staff the store, entirely on a volunteer basis.

All the volunteers, like the customers they serve, love Mesilla Valley Hospice, Pollard said. They not only like shopping at the store, they also donate the treasured possessions of loved ones who have died, which makes up the ever-changing stock of The Emporium.

Just like it says on the store’s website: “The Emporium relies completely on donations to create an inventory of quality antiques, collectibles, jewelry, gently used furniture and various household items.”

Repeat customers often come to The Emporium every week to shop and see what’s new.

“This is their happy place,” Pollard said.

The Emporium is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Call 575-202-7351.  Visit www.emporiumlc.com.